Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Now That's A Pretty Song

Joe Cocker pounding out a hard rock version of Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan. Bad news: this version is shorter by at least two verses and a chorus than the original, and the arrangement is good enough that I miss 'em, daft words and all. Good News: It is so far ahead of the original arrangement1 that radio messages take several minutes to travel between the two. Within one bar it had me hooked, and there was only a piano playing at the time. The driving drum beat had yet to cut in, followed by Cocker in fine voice. Absolute bloody magic.

Check it out for yourself on No Ordinary World, an album of covers that concludes with a version of Paul Brady's excellent Love Made A Promise2, by itself a darn good reason to buy the thing.

If the only time you've heard Joe Cocker is on the soundtrack to Woodstock you'll be impressed how he sounds when he's sober.

Cohen went for an (unusual for him) electronic treatment a-la Kraftwerk on his. You can check that out on I'm Your Man↑